Some good friends have a 2002 Rodeo with an auto..they just had the trans filter replaced and a basic fluid change.. now the trans appears to be defaulted into maybe a safe mode? starts out in a high gear..I am heading over to see if I can help at all..any suggestions?

no lights on dash...not there yet..leaving in few..thats what the owner says..

Ok..so I checked alternator voltage and it was 13.88vThe trans engaged into gears while parked and the indicator on dash corresponded correctly with the gear selected..We backed out of drive way and eased down the road..I started in low and manually shifted..it shifted but slips..got to an incline and it shuddered and then slipped badly..got nothing at all out of any forward gear..placed it in reverse and went about 20 feet then it went out completely..so we rolled to a stop..I went to park which seemed to work and hold the vehicle that was now parked on a decline..I shifted through all the gears and got nothing..so we called AAA...while waiting I poked around fuse box and removed and reseated the ECM fuses..we hung around for about 15 minutes or so and then the owner wanted to try again to limp it home..so he started it up and put it in drive and eased it out..the Rodeo engaged in drive and we eased for about 100 feet or so and then it just slipped badly again..we were able to go about 1 block and get it into the garage..I crawled under to check the fluid level..this was just serviced days ago..I noticed that the hex bolts look the same..all untouched looking..so I back out the fill plug until I see fluid coming out..I catches some in a cup..its dark and theres fine shiny particles in it..smells a bit toasty too..not extreme burnt smelling but burnt non the less..I just don't see how it was doing ok then after the "service" it starts slipping and deteriorates that quickly... and I suspect whether the service was even done..this fluid was too dark in my opinion and the particles should have been noticed if they were present before..now this Rodeo does have 170k..so any ideas or does this sound toasted?Thanks guys..

The 170k miles doesn't mean squat if it's been taken care of it's entire life. I've got 2 of these transmissions, one at 350k, the other at 205k miles, fluid in both comes out nice, cherry red.

Sounds to me like the shop definitely didn't do the service, that much is obvious. 2ndly, sounds as if the current fluid, with or without the service being performed, was left in WAY too long past it's prime.

Only thing I can suggest is for you guys to do the service yourself, ie. drop the pan, change the filter, add 6qts of new Castrol Import ATF and see if it helps.

STOP driving it, don't even turn the engine over until this has been done or you'll keep sucking crap through everything.

I preach and preach on here that owners need to do yearly drain/refills on these beasts, or at least every 15k miles if it tows, does mountain driving or is a daily driver; if it's a vehicle that doesn't see a lot of heavy use, then a drain every 20k miles is good....do NOT go past this interval!

Well..if you saw this rodeo you'd think it was babied its whole life..The paint and body is great and the interior looks like it has 30k miles..under the hood looks the same but trans was never serviced!. I am convinced the shop did nothing..non of the bolts show evidence of being removed..no socket marks on them or the pan itself..Obviously thats not what caused this..neglect has caused this trans problem i am sure..Now to find out what a rebuild costs....anyone had this done?

I don't doubt the truck has been meticulously maintained, problem too, is the owners manual literally states that these are non-serviceable transmissions, so people never think to get them serviced - believe me, I understand, cause I still have my owners manual and it states exactly that.

If it's never been serviced, and it's at 170k miles, it's toast. Sorry.

If that's a one owner truck and they've taken care of everything else as it sounds like they have, it's worth a rebuild, these truck's will go forever.

Mine is 16yrs old & 205k miles and still looks as brand-new as the day it came off the floor, inside and out.

yeah its worth repairing for sure..The darn thing really looks like a very low mileage Rodeo..The first time I saw it my first thought was "I need to buy this thing if they ever sell it!"..I was shocked to find out it had 170k...Its their daily driver and money is tight so hopefully the rebuild isn't too brutal..Its a 2wd by the way..Silver/grey...in fact in my hood scoop thread I have a black scoop lying on its hood to see how they fit a Rodeo..

ramzoom wrote:..I just don't see how it was doing ok then after the "service" it starts slipping and deteriorates that quickly... and I suspect whether the service was even done...

One way to check would be to pull the pan and see if the filter is new, The media is probably plugged but you might be able to at least tell if it or the gasket is the original from the factory.

Sounds to me like a classic case of putting new fluid in a neglected AT. The filter replacement probably only replaced 1/2 the fluid at most. That was just enough to loosen many years of additional accumulated junk. It moved around lodging who knows where and killed the AT.

The shop should have noticed and told the owner how dark the old fluid was. They should have also told them the chances they were taking putting in new fluid. Moreover they should have come up with a plan for some future drain, refill, drive a little, new filter cycle(s) to try and minimize the problem.